From ESPN.com
Opening Day for the NFL is more than three months away, but you wouldn’t know it if you followed Darren Sharper and Visanthe Shiancoe on Twitter.
The Saints safety and the Vikings tight end have engaged in a little friendly sparring in the media and on the Web after Sharper referred to Brett Favre’s ankle, saying “X marks the spot.”
Favre recently had ankle surgery and many in the football world expect that he will return to the Vikings next season. Last year, Favre injured the ankle during the NFC Championship Game against Sharper’s Saints.
This year, the Saints and Vikings will open the NFL season on Sept. 9, and there may be more on the line than just a win.
The drama between Shiancoe and Sharper started when Shiancoe told reporters that if “X marks the spot” on Favre’s ankle, than Sharper’s “X” will be on one of his knees, which was also surgically repaired.
When Sharper heard of Shiancoe’s comments, he wasted no time hitting cyberspace with a challenge.
“So visanthe stankoe X marks the spot on me, how bout X marks the spot for how many catches and TDs you’ll have come Thursday night,” Sharper wrote on his Twitter (@sharper42). “X [equals] zero.
“If you feeling yourself put your game check on it. No TDs and less than 3 catches you give me your game check. Now whose talking.”
Shiancoe has yet to respond to Sharper’s prodding, but teammate Bryant McKinnie responded, telling the Saints safety that getting to Favre won’t be easy.
McKinnie tweeted that the Vikings’ offensive line was “the secret service and Brett is Obama, so try 2 get thru if u want 2! Now this is ur warning!”
Ironically, Favre still hasn’t officially announced his comeback, so it’s possible that he won’t even be a Viking next season. I wouldn’t bet my game check on that, though.
